1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to accessories for voting terminals and, more particularly, to a specially-adapted voter cart for storage, transport, and use of a voting terminal in a more convenient and secure manner.
2. Background of the Invention
There are a myriad of existing storage and transport carts currently in use for a wide variety of applications. Some of these carts are adapted for carrying high-value electronic equipment, while others carry confidential high-security items. Voter carts for voting devices must combine both sets of attributes inasmuch as voting devices are high-value devices and require considerable security precautions. Moreover, voting devices can be heavy, thus requiring a very robust voter cart, but they must be thoroughly accessible by all persons, inclusive of physically disabled persons, from outside the cart.
Most polling precincts in the United States utilize voting booths with specialized balloting terminals. In the past, many precincts used terminals such as Datavote™ or Votomatic™, which required the voter to punch out a perforated rectangle (i.e., a chad) from a card using a stylus. There is a mask installed in the Votomatic™ that reveals certain holes that are aligned with ballot book pages in the recorder and which in turn correspond to names of candidates or issues. The punched card is then taken and inserted into a precinct ballot counter that is programmed to translate the hole and number to the particular candidate or issue.
Paper balloting can be hard to use for mobility impaired, vision impaired, and non-English speaking voters. Consequently, electronic balloting terminals are gaining popularity, and at least one or two are made available in each voting precinct. Indeed, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 has mandated that, beginning in 2006, each polling place have at least one voting machine that is fully accessible for persons with disabilities. Direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines can fulfill this accessibility requirement. DRE voting machines typically entail a touch-screen ballot-marking machine with audio capability (usually via attached headphones). A DRE voting machine records votes, processes the data, and records voting data and ballot images in memory. After the election, the DRE voting machine produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy.
There are many manufacturers of DRE voting machines including Diebold Election Systems, ES&S, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Hart Intercivic. For example, the AutoMARK™ voter assist terminal by ES&S is a ballot-marking terminal sized at approximately 21″×26″×18″ when a fold-out 15″ full-color touch-screen display is deployed (and approximately 21″×26″×8″ when the screen is not deployed). Voters securely cast their vote for each race or ballot proposition simply through the touch of the screen or by way of audio guidance. When the voter inserts the ballot into the AutoMARK™, an electronic version of the ballot appears on the screen and can be read electronically to the voter. Upon the voter's direction, the AutoMARK™ marks the ovals on the optical scan ballot. Whether using a DRE voting machine or any other optical scan voting terminal, the voter is provided with a completed paper ballot that will later be inserted into an optical scan ballot counter for tabulation, after which the paper ballot is deposited into a sealed ballot box.
Voting precincts typically employ six to twelve voting booths. Delivering, setting up, monitoring, tearing down, and returning to storage all the voting equipment is a cumbersome task. Most precincts now either manually carry and transport the equipment or use standard voter carts similar to those that carry folding chairs. These generic voter carts normally comprise a simple platform mounted on wheels or casters to provide mobility. These carts may be provided with upwardly protruding side-rails to constrain the equipment. Such carts take no security precautions and do not provide on-board access to the equipment for voting use. One of the main functions of the voting terminal cart is to provide a secure environment to prevent theft or tampering of the items stored within the cart. Ordinarily, the equipment for each voting booth—one ballot-marking/printing system and voting table—is loaded onto the voter cart, and is then wheeled into position for use. Because the equipment is not accessible while on the cart, it must be unloaded, and the cart is then removed for voting. After voting, the process is reversed.
A voter cart that houses the voting terminal in a fully operable and accessible position—the voting terminal being approximately waist-level for easy access by standing or wheelchair voters—would be much more convenient. To properly mount a ballot-marking voting terminal to cart, robust mechanical restraints to protect against shifting of the equipment, robust security features to protect against theft or tampering, and full front and back access to the voting terminal are needed.